IMC Hawks Blog

Category: COM Studies Day

  • The Power of Networking

    Networking has been around for a long time and continues to prove the importance of it throughout one’s career.  Although many individuals cringe at the thought of networking, there are many myths that are not true about this powerful way to connect with people.  For starters that networking is just a way to get a job and that is the only benefit from it.  This is absolutely not true; it goes beyond just handing a resume to a familiar person.  These are lifelong bonds that are beneficial through an extended period of time.

    COM Studies Day 2013_2

    The steps to networking are easy to follow as long as you don’t let your social anxieties get the best of you.  Majority of people seem to get worked up mentally in large crowds and do not seek their full potential at a networking event.  The key is to remain calm and have a plan in motion before going to any kind of networking event.  You need to have in mind exactly what you’re going in there for and the type of candidates that would be good in your networking circle.  After meeting with contenders it is your responsibility to keep up contact and remember they are doing the favor and to really appreciate any time or feedback given.  This will build their trust and confidence in you as a person if you continually show communication efforts and motivation in that particular career field.

    The potential knowledge you can gain from these people in your social circle can help you in your career when facing challenges or lead you to a new opportunity.  Networking provides a good outlet to seek access to prospective jobs that most of the times are not listed for public view.  With your inside connections you are more likely to be exposed to these hidden opportunities than others.  There is also the sharing of information and the reciprocal aspect of networking; to be able to exchange or return favors for those that have helped you to get to your career. When you finally get settled into your profession you’ll realize that it’s helpful to have an outside resource to call on during challenging times.  To have a knowledgeable mentor guide you in hard times is extremely nice because they could have already been through the same dilemma and have very informative advice to give for the sticky situation.  Networking can give you guidance on how to further your profession or possible new adventures to take with other career prospects on the rise.  These are just a glimpse at some of the amazing advantages and the enormous power of networking.

    -Melissa Shampoe

  • Personal Preferences vs. Employer Requirements

    Six weeks until graduation here at UNCW. Ask any senior what’s on their mind and I can almost guarantee it has something to do with employment – resumes, cover letters, interviews, portfolios.

    It is our goal to make a good impression on our potential employers in every form – in person, on paper, and increasingly important, online. Searching someone’s name can yield a lot of information – sometimes too much information.

    In the COM Department, many students will enter fields where managing an online presence is part of their job responsibility. Here is where we enter the public versus private debate. We have been told that our social network sites should be kept public so that prospective employers, especially those in the marketing field, can see what we post about, how often we post, and if we’re keeping up with the latest trends. But what if companies aren’t making the public or private view a personal preference? What if they are demanding access to your accounts? Other than directly asking for your log in information, employers are also asking applicants to friend a human resources manager, or log in to a company computer during an interview.

    American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attorney, Catherine Crump said: “It’s an invasion of privacy for private employers to insist on looking at people’s private Facebook pages as a condition of employment or consideration in an application process.  People are entitled to their private lives. You’d be appalled if your employer insisted on opening up your postal mail to see if there was anything of interest inside. It’s equally out of bounds for an employer to go on a fishing expedition through a person’s private social media account.”

    Facebook’s privacy officer, Erin Egan, also weighed in on the issue: “In recent months, we’ve seen a distressing increase in reports of employers or others seeking to gain inappropriate access to people’s Facebook profiles or private information. This practice undermines the privacy expectations and the security of both the user and the user’s friends. It also potentially exposes the employer who seeks this access to anticipated legal liability.”

    Much of what these employers are doing could be illegal. When interviewing, every human resource staff member knows that some topics are strictly off limits. Asking one of these off limits questions could put your company at serious risk for being sued for discrimination. Yet by using to social media investigation or review, this kind of off limits information can be collected about a potential employee even before their interview.

    Here are some examples of questions employers cannot ask:

    –   Are you married?
    –   How old are you?
    –   Do you have children? If so how many and how old are they?
    –   What church do you attend?
    –   Do you belong to any social or political groups?
    –   Do you suffer from an illness or disability?
    –   Are you taking any prescribed drugs?

    And for women specifically:

    –  Do you plan to get married?
    –  Do you intend to start a family?
    –  Are you likely to take time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act?

    McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC describe the issue as “Tempting Fruit from a Poisonous Tree”. They give the following example:
    Applicant – Alex Jackson – catches your eye. Excellent resume, degree from a New York Ivy League school, published in trade magazine, active in community, and has excellent references. You decide to pull their Facebook page to get a better feel for the applicant. You find Alex is a 42 year old female, active in the Catholic Church, recently married, and has one year old son. A recent posts says “Please pray for my mother as she recovers from her most recent bout with cancer.”

    Just like Alex’s, your profile probably reveals a lot of the same information. In just a matter of a few clicks, race, age, religion, gender, and medical history have all been revealed – and are all illegal questions for an employer to ask. In a worst case scenario, an employer could even get sued under a variety of Acts if one felt such factors contributed to swaying a hiring decision.

    Social media continues to blur the lines of public and private. Be prepared for your interview – know what questions are likely to be asked, but also know what questions you don’t have to answer. How do you feel about employers requiring to see your accounts? Acceptable or infringing? Where should the line be drawn? Is there a compromise that can be made?

    – Savannah Valade

    Make sure to keep up with the blog this week as the team explores more employment trends in preparation for COM Studies Day this Friday. Students and alumni are encouraged to attend the informational panels, fashion, and networking events that will take place throughout the day. This is a great opportunity to learn, ask questions, and get advice . For those who cannot attend the events, follow the IMC Hawks here on Twitter as we will be live tweeting, as well as live blogging, throughout the day’s events.

     

  • The Next Big Thing… Coming Soon.

    Have YOU had the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos taco yet?  I can’t say that I was waiting anxiously outside of my local Taco Bell on March 7th when this new wonder debuted, but millions of taco fans could barely contain their excitement.  Not convinced?  Follow Taco Bell on Twitter or Facebook and you’ll experience the overwhelming response.  On March 4th Taco Bell announced via social media that fans could get the new Cool Ranch DLT (Doritos Locos Taco) a day early and the response was a mix of joy and outrage.  Many fans hopped on the chance to indulge while others were shocked to discover that their local chain had not gotten the memo.

    It seems that Taco Bell knows exactly what their fans want and have aimed to deliver.  In fact, the franchise has focused their advertising for the new DLT on their fans.  Working their fan base, the earliest announcements of the new taco came in the form of teasers, meant to fuel the DLT craze and build anticipation.

    Next came a series of ads featuring tweets from fans about the new taco sensation. Since the rise of social media, companies have been able to receive more direct feedback from their fans and have taken advantage of this in their ads.  Through these ads Taco Bell is not only able to highlight fan comments, but also feature these fans in the ad, emphasizing their delight in finally having the Cool Ranch DLT.


    Starting to sound familiar? You might be thinking back to the iPhone 5 and Apple’s promise to finally deliver all of the features that fans have been anxiously awaiting.  So is this new, fan-based advertising genius or overdone?  That’s up for us as consumers to decide.  After all, gone are the days of simply consuming advertising.  Today, we can all be a part of the magic behind the ads.

    – Ally Walton

  • Travelling Abroad and Confidence!

    Do you have any advice for traveling abroad?

    Jessie – When traveling try to blend in and make sure to research the culture you are going to be visiting.

    Kati – Do a lot of research and have a plan, but also be flexible! Your expectations can easily be misguided. Don’t be so caught in your plan that you can’t roll with the punches.

    Do employers look at travel abroad experience positively?

    Jessie – Absolutely, I work in the department I do now because I have the experience abroad.

    Closing notes:

    The COM Core Skill – Confidence – has gotten a lot of attention today!! Let yourself shine!

  • Job Advice and Why COM Rocks!!

    How to stay positive in the job search after graduation?

    Leland – Take the steps you need to take to get to where you want to be, and it is never a straight line, so be flexible!

    Brenzy – Take the experience you have the opportunity to. Learning what you don’t like is just as important as learning what you do want.

    Matt – You don’t really know what your dream job is until you get out there. Things like your boss, and business culture are important.

    Kati – Keep an open mind, always be looking. If you aren’t really liking something, figure out what direction you would rather be moving in. Don’t wait for the breaking point before you start looking for a new path.

    Is there one communication skill that you can think of that will make you stand out to an employer?

    Consensus – CONFIDENCE

    Matt – Be prepared for any kind of interview.

    Jessie – Be honest. Don’t say you have skills you don’t.

    Is there one specific advantage that being a COM Major gave you?

    Jessie – I think the versatility really sets you apart because it makes you a flexible employee.

    Leland – It develops people skills, you have to know how to adapt to people and situations.

    Kati – It provides such a broad foundation and you can dabble in a lot of different areas. Mediation was something that really came in handy, and I wasn’t sure it would be useful but it has proven very helpful even in the last six months. It’s such a risk to say I just want to do accounting for the rest of my life. COM gives you the opportunity to change careers if you want to.

    Matt – I wouldn’t have gotten hired for my first job if I hadn’t taken the PR classes. Having those diverse classes sets you apart because you can do a little bit of everything.

    Do you think employers would rather see a lot of experience or longevity with a company?

    Leland – Longevity is definitely important because they want to see that you were loyal to a company before. It shows you can be committed to a job.

    Kati – I think there is a balance because you don’t want it to seem like you can only do one thing.

    Jessie – Because I have such a diverse array of experience, and positive references, I got the job I have now. Whether I was there for a month or a year, I had great references to call upon.

    Matt – I don’t think longevity means anything.

  • Software Advice

    What kind of role does Adobe InDesign play?

    Jessie: I use it to manage our websites, to create headers, to add creative elements to make things more visually appealing. I also used it for Warrior Dash, definitely for advertising and marketing.

    Matt: The more software you know how to use, the more indispensable you are. The more often your boss is coming to you to ask you to do something, the better. Even if you don’t learn it in class, it is something you should learn how to do.

    Kati – You can always get someone else to produce whatever you need done, but you don’t want your project to be held up especially when working with clients. The more you can handle yourself the better!

  • Social Media Advice

    Kati – Start blogging because it gives you something to talk about, interact with other people who blog about similar things. Figure out what platforms you want to use and how you can build UNIQUE content that is relevant to what you want to do. I actually had a reporter contact me because I shared my blog on twitter. It was an awesome experience and it gave me additional exposure.

    Matt – Figure out what your personal brand is, and focus on building that personal brand. If you are on Facebook in a personal way, be sure to have your privacy settings in place. Employers are smart. Everyone at the very least, if you are in college and you want to get a job, you HAVE to have a LinkedIn profile. I’ve had people head hunt me because of things I’ve done online.

    Brenzy – If you don’t have an online profile, that’s weird. I want to see something. Have a picture on your LinkedIn, have a resume on there.

    Jessie – Facebook has been a huge tool for my photography business. I think it is important to share a content that is engaging.

    Leland – Everything you do and put out there, give it your all. There is no such thing as bad experience, ever at all.